Kin: A Novel

Kin: A Novel by Tayari Jones

Two "orphaned" black girls grow up in Jim Crow south. One was abandoned by her mother. The other's father murdered her mother. They are friends in their youth, but their paths diverge. Vernice attends Spelman college and marries into a wealthy family. Annie has a more blue-collar life and works in a club and attempts to find her mother. She is first told her mother died, but later found she was still alive - with a child that shared her name. Her fiancé dumps and she gives into her boss's moves. Things don't go well and she loses her job and gets pregnant. She goes to Vernice to get help. She gets an illegal abortion, but dies from internal bleeding. The book fades away at the end with Vernice and her reckoning with her past. These people had rough lives, but they tried to make the best of their situation.

Dominion: A Novel

Dominion: A Novel by Addie E. Citchens

The book begins with the correlated city and church and town in the Mississippi delta town of Dominion. Then it drifts into the lives of the characters. The current preacher is a key figure in the town. He has a number of sons, including Emanuel, commonly referred to as Wonderboy. He is the star on the football team, and seems to succeed at everything he does. The preacher's wife is often referred to as the "First Lady". She is an important figure in town, though she does occasionally have issues with alcohol. Wonderboy starts a relationship with a girl, Diamond who grew up in rougher surroundings. She lives with another family. She has not seen her brother in a while (as he hangs out on the street with the druggies.) The girl and the boy start a chaste relationship. They decide to consummate one day, and that is the beginning on the end. They decide to really have sex later. Wonderboy has violent outbursts and kills a guy and decides to leave town with Diamond. There, he is also a philanderer, including having a relationship with a white girl. He also attempts to commit suicide. Diamond still stands beside him. Wonderboy's behavior leads to the separation of his parents and to his father stepping down as preacher. She later learns that he had killed her brother and he eventually dies a violent death. The bad behavior of the gifted, but entitled son leaves a wave of destruction. It also is an opportunity for the women in the novel to assert their independence and not passively endure.